Sampler cutter



June 11', 1957 R. PATE 2,795,141

. SAMPLER CUTTER Filed'April 5, 1955 Y 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 J5 I INVENTOR. m fioberzflfafa R. L. PATE SAMPLER CUTTER June 11, 1957 3 Shee ts-Sheet 2 Filed April 5, 1955 INVENTOR. EOZDe/"ZL. PczZe,

June 1957 R. PATE 2,795,141

SAMPLER CUTTER Filed April 5, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 NVENTOR. w I

United States Patent SAMPLER CUTTER .RobertlL. Pate, Pittsburg, Kans., assignor to'The McNally Pittsburg Manufacturing Corporation, Pittsburg, Kana, a corporation of Kansas Application April 5, 1955,:Serial No. 499,329

4 Claims. (Cl. 73-423) The invention relates to sampling apparatus and has reference in particular to sampling apparatus for sampling material iflowin'g as a continuous stream in a chute or the like .and which may have operation to wdivert a representative sample from the :fiowing stream of mate- :rial, either periodically :at spaced intervals, or at any desired "time.

An object of the invention .is to :provide apparatus which will include a cutter fixed to and reciprocated by an endless belt-soras to have movement'transversely across :the flowing stream of material for diverting a portionof the same for sampling purposes.

A more specific object of the invention IBSiClGS in the provision of sampling apparatus :as above described wherein the belt is disposed in a vertical plane, and wherein said belt performs the dual function of transporting the cutter backtand forth transversely of the material handling chute and also that of acting as a seal to close an opening :in the chute.

Another object :is to provide a sample cutter having a fixed connection to:a vertically {disposed endless belt, and wherein :the parts are so arranged :and combined with the material'handl'ing chute ;as to relieve-the belt of any wearsuch ;as might be .caused by the stream of flowing material in having contact therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide endless belt mechanism tor a sample cutter as described which will incorporate'track and roller structure for supporting the respective ends of the cntterrso as to relieve the belt of the weight' of this element. In this connection, the end pulleys for the'bielt may have a flanged bottom so as to provide additional support for the belt associated therewith.

1A stillturther object is to provide sampling mechanism that .can be conveniently associated with a metal chute through which a streamof material is caused to -flow, wherein limit switches are provided for automatically controlling back and forth movementwof the endless belt and thus oscillating travel :of the cutter fixed to the belt,

and wherein the mechanism can be set for any desired speed of travel for the cutter, and for operation with any desired time interval between forward .and rearward travel thereof.

With .these and other objects in view, [the il'lVIlilOIl may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation as will be more fully described and Particularly pointed out in the specification, drawings and claims appended thereto.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention, and wherein like reference characters are used to designate like parts- I Figure l is .a side elevational view showing an installation for delivering material by means .of a chute, said chute being equipped with sampling mechanism embodying .the improved features of the invention; 4 J

Figure .2 .is an end elevational view showing certain constructional details of the endless belt mechanism for the sample cutter; r

ice

of the invention is shown inoperative association with a delivery chute identified in its entirety 'by numeral 10 and which receives coal or other material at its upper end and discharges the same at its lower end. The chute 10 consists of an upper portion 11 formed by a top wall 12, a bottom wall 13, and by side walls 14 and 15. The lower portion 16 of the chute 10. is formed by top and bottom Walls 17 and 18 and by side walls v20 and 21. The chute is supplied with material-by the belt conveyor 22, the discharge end of which is formed by :pulley 23 having location within :housing 24, the said housing constituting part of said chute 10. The discharge end 25 is disposed over the conveyor belt 26'Which extends hori- Lzontall-y so that the material from the chute discharges IGIltO the conveyor belt; and in this manner continues its movement through the plant. At this receiving end :of the conveyor belt .26 said belt passes over pulley 27 supported for rotation by bearings 28 which are "fixed to beams 29 of the framework 30 comprising the building IOI enclosure for the sampling apparatus of .theinvention including the various auxiliary devices associated therewith.

The endless belt mechanism 32 of the present sampling apparatus is interposed between the upper portion 14 and the lower'portion '16 of the :chute 1t and'said mechanism-is so combined with :the respective portions of said chute that the cutter is caused to-travel across the stream As best shown in Figures 3 and 4, the said pulleys are suitably journalled to extensions of the side walls 20 and 21 of the said lower portion 16 of the chute. For example, pulley 34 is journalled by members 36 suitably fixed to and extending outwardly of the side wall extension 20, whereas, pulleyi35 is --journalled by members 37 fixed :to and extending outwardly of side wall extension 21. The endless belt mechanism is driven through power means in the form of an electric motor 38 which is likewise secured to the extension of the sidewall 20 by means of the bracket 39,:the motor having its drive shaft opera- .tively connected to the shaft for pulley 34. It will accordingly .be seen that operation of the electric motor 38 will result in rotation of pulley 34 and movement of the endless belt 33. The belt is supported vas it passes around the end pulleys by means of the bottom flanges 40 and 41 with which said pulleys, respectively, are equipped. Also, as best shown in-Figure 5, the outside intermediate run of said endless belt is supported along its bottom edge by the angle 42'fixed to and positioned by the structural members 43 which depend from the side walls 14 and 15 of the upper portion 11 of the chute.

In accordance with the invention, the other intermediate run of the endless belt '33 "has the cutter 44 afiixed thereto, for which purpose it is necessary to cut an opening in the belt through which the cutter extends. The cutter 44 essentially consists of a rectangular container having an open top and also being open on one end, namely, its discharge end. Whereas the endless belt 33 is disposed vertically, the cutter 44 has fixed securernent to the belt at a considerable angle with respect to the vertical. This is necessary since the cutter must not only have movement transversely of the chute, but the cutter should be disposed approximately normal to the flow of material inthe chute. For securing the cutter to the belt, flange members 45 are employed, which may be welded or otherwise secured to the cutter, and which are in turn fastened to the belt by the securing bolts 46. The cutter is so disposed with respect to the inside belt run as to have its rear portion located within the chute at the connection between the upper and lower portions thereof and said cutter also extends on the opposite side of the belt, that is, outwardly of the chute, for the purpose of discharging the material intercepted thereby.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the endless belt 33 is associated at its respective ends with pulleys 34 and 35, the said belt being vertically disposed and being so associated with the chute that the inside belt run closes an opening in the bottom wall of the lower portion 16 at the joint between the same and the upper portion 11. To cause movement of the endless belt and travel of the cutter 44, rotation is imparted to pulley 34 by means of the electric motor 38. Operation of the motor will produce rotation of said pulley 34 and thus movement of the belt 33 to cause travel of the cutter 44 across the stream of flowing material. In accordance with the invention the end pulleys have a bottom flange 40 whereby to provide the desired support for the endless belt, and

the outside belt run is additionally supported by the angle 42 suspended by the structural members 43. 'It is further proposed to relieve the belt of the weight of the cutter 44 by supporting the cutter at its respective ends through roller and track mechanism. Accordingly, the right hand end of the cutter is provided with an extension 50 which may be of triangular shape in side elevation, as shown in Figure 2, and to which is suitably secured, as by welding,,the stud shafts 51, which journalthe rollers 52. The angle beam 53 provides a track for the said rollers 52, the said angle beam extending between and being supported by the side walls 20 and 21 of the lower portion 16 of the chute. The opposite exterior end of the cutter 44 is likewise supported by roller and track mechanism for which purpose said end of the cutter has suitably fixed thereto the hanger 54 which carries the rollers 55 at its upper end. The rollers have rolling contact with an angle member such as 56, suitably secured to and supported by the bottom wall 13 of the upper portion 11 of the chute.

With the sample cutter 44 fixed to belt 33 so as to form a unit therewith, it will be clear that belt movement has to be confined to forward and rearward oscillations. This can be conveniently accomplished by a pair of limit switches 58 and 60, which are suitably supported from bottom wall 18 of portion 16 of the chute. The limit switches are located at respective sides of the chute, as best shown in Figure 4, and said switches are of standard construction, such as may be actuated by a lug or similar 1 projection 61 fixed to the underside of cutter 44 and disposed in alignment with said switches.

, direction to move the sample cutter from its position of rest, as shown in Figure 4, to a similar position at the opposite side of the chute, as shown in Figure 3. When the cutter reaches said opposite side position the projection 61 on the cutter will contact limit switch 60, whereupon the electric motor 38 is caused-to reverse its direction of rotation.

If desired, a time delay device can be incor porated in the electrical connections so that the endless 4 belt does not immediately reverse its direction of movement but does so only after a lapse of a predetermined interval of time. However, eventually the cutter will travel rearwardly and upon reaching its position of rest projection 61 will contact limit switch 58 to open the circuit and terminate one complete cycle of operation.

When the cutter 44 is located in a position of rest, as shown in Figure 3, the said cutter is located beyond side wall 14 of the chute so that the cutter is therefore inoperatively positioned when idle. Likewise the cutter is inoperatively positioned due to its location beyond side wall 15 when it assumes its opposite side position, that is, at the end of its forward travel and before the cutter is caused to travel rearwardly. Due to the provision of limit switches the operation of the sample cutter is automatic and the same can be set for any desired speed and for operation at any desired time intervals.

Referring again to Figure l, the cutter 44 delivers the sample of material into the hopper 62 which has a length equal to the extent of travel of the cutter. From the hopper 62 the sample is delivered to crusher 63 which is preferably a conventional piece of equipment, and following the operation of crushing the sample a portion of the same is delivered through spout 64 into the sample container 65 provided for the purpose. The remaining portion of the sample is discharged through spout 66 onto the conveyor 20.

The invention is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment thereof illus trated by the drawings, as various other forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In sampling apparatus, in combination with a sloping material delivery chute, of endless belt mechanism in association with said chute, said mechanism including a pair of pulleys located exteriorly of the chute at respective sides of the same, an endless belt operatively supported by the pulleys and driven thereby, said pulleys having their shafts disposed vertically and which therefore form an angle with the sloping chute, whereby the spaced belt runs are vertically disposed, one of said belt runs coacting with the chute so as to form a vertical wall for closing an opening in the chute, a sample cutter fixed to the belt at said belt run and extending through the belt, whereby the cutter has a portion located within the passageway of the chute and a portion disposed exteriorly of the chute, power means for driving one of the pulleys whereby to cause movement of the belt and travel of the cutter across the stream of material flowing in the passageway to divert a portion of the material for sampling purposes, and supporting means in the form of roller and track mechanism for supporting and guiding the cutter during its travel.

2. Sampling apparatus as defined in claim 1, additionally including limit switches in electrical connection with said power means for eifecting oscillating movement of the belt and back and forth travel of the sample cutter within the passageway.

3. In apparatus for obtaining a representative sample from a stream of flowing material, the combination with a chute providing a passageway through which said material is caused to flow, of a pair of pulleys located exteriorly of the chute at respective sides of the same, an endless belt in association with said pulleys, said belt being supported by the pulleys at respective ends and providing spaced, parallel belt runs between the pulleys, said pulleys having their shafts disposed vertically and which therefore locates said belt and the belt runs in a vertical plane, one of said belt runs coacting with the chute so as to form a vertical wall for closing an opening extending transversely of the bottom wall of the chute, a sample cutter fixed to the belt at said belt run and extending through the belt, whereby the cutter has a portion located within the passageway of the chute and a portion disposed exteriorly of the chute, power means for driving one of the pulleys whereby 'to cause movement of the belt and travel of the cutter across the stream of material flowing in the passageway to divert a portion of the material for sampling purposes, and supporting means in the form of roller and track mechanism at respective ends of the cutter for supporting and guiding the cutter during its travel.

4. Sampling apparatus as defined in claim 3, additionally including limit switches in electrical connection with 6 said power means and actuating means carried by the sample cutter for actuating the said limit switches whereby to effect oscillating movement of the belt and back and forth travel of the sample cutter within the passageway.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,001,129 Fairchild Aug. 22, 1911 10 1,155,670 McGregor Oct. 5, 1915 1,937,473 Geary et a1. Nov. 28, 1933 

